was fond of charity, which I ain't. He said to me--Well, you take your
things off and I'll tell you about it. You can stay a little while,
can't you?"

"Yes, I was going to stay all the afternoon and for supper, if you'd let
me. I knew you had so much to do and I wanted to help. I told uncle and
he said certainly I ought to come. He said he should try to see you and
say good-by before you left tomorrow."

"You don't say! And me a Regular! Well, I'm much obliged, though I guess
your Uncle Eben won't see me to-morrow--nor speak to me again, when he
knows what I AM going to do. Grace, I ain't goin' to leave Trumet, not
for the present, anyhow. I've got a way of earnin' my livin' right here.
I'm goin' to keep house for the new minister."

The girl turned, her hat in her hand.

"Oh!" she cried in utter astonishment.

Keziah nodded. "Yes," she affirmed. "That was what Elkanah's proposal
amounted to. Ha! ha! Deary me! When he said 'proposal,' I own up for
a minute I didn't know WHAT was comin'. After Kyan I was prepared
for 'most anything. But he told me that Lurany Phelps, who the parish
committee had counted on to keep house for Mr. Ellery, had sent word her
sister was sick and couldn't be left, and that somebody must be hired
right off 'cause the minister's expected by day after to-morrow's coach.
And they'd gone over every likely candidate in town till it simmered
down to Mehitable Burgess. And Cap'n Zeb Mayo spoke right up in the
committee meetin' and gave out that if Mehitable kept house for Mr.
Ellery he, for one, wouldn't come to church. Said he didn't want to hear